Home
by suckerforasmile
Summary: Nick closed his eyes and wished this was a dream. “I didn’t forget. Five years is huge, I couldn’t have forgotten if I tried.” Slash, N/G, oneshot


_First fanfic in a while again, guys xD Sorry… I've got a few still in the works, which would explain my MIA bit, because shit has hit the fan so many times since I last posted, and…You're not here to hear about my life, are you? 8D In that case, I'll tell you a few pieces of information you might be willing to hear. _Family_ is coming along very, very slowly. I've rewritten the third chapter twice and I'm going to go about it again, and DHME has so many last chapters as well, and that folder on my computer has so many double files of everything… I'm going to get it organized this weekend, so I imagine that when I post again, it'll be in kind of a bulk._

_Another important bit of information is that this is __**self-**__**beta'd. **__I've contacted Kassie, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet, and I didn't want to continue bothering her if she was busy, so Kassie, if you get a chance, lemme know what's up, yeah?_

_Anyway, I don't own Nick or Greg, I'm just borrowing._

"Are you coming home soon?"

"Yeah. We're done with our case; I've only got a bit of paperwork left." Nick paused. "You okay? You sound upset."

Greg sighed into the phone and twirled the pen on the table. "I just—," He sighed again. "I thought you'd be home by now."

"I know, I'm sorry, this case totally had us in the wrong direction. I'll be home soon." Greg glanced around their kitchen still hoping he could surprise Nick.

"Promise?"

"I promise." Smiling again, Greg let his hopes back up despite his better judgment. "I love you."

"Love you too." Having heard his boyfriend hang up, Greg closed his phone, deciding that tonight was special enough to wait a little longer. After all, Nick had promised to be home and he didn't make promises he didn't intend to keep. At least, not to Greg.

--

Hours after Nick had planned on being home, he opened the door to a dark apartment. The blackout blinds were closed and the lights turned off, which meant that Greg was either hiding in the shadows waiting to attack him or he had already gone to bed. Voting for the latter, Nick remembered that Greg going to bed without him meant only one thing, and it wasn't a good thing.

Nick really couldn't figure out _why_ Greg would be angry. Disappointed, sure, but angry? Greg had left him thinking he'd be home early, only to get Nick's hopes up, plenty of times. But it really wasn't that big of a deal. Nick and Greg had the same job and both understood it when they needed to work double shifts. It was one of the many things that Nick felt was a perk in his relationship with Greg.

Turning on the light, the reason for Greg's apparent anger was obvious. The table in the kitchen was set, complete with candles and flowers. A plate was missing and Nick could only assume Greg had given up on him and gave into his needs, eating dinner without him.

Feeling like he should go find a doghouse to sleep in, Nick set his keys down quietly and took off his shoes, sure to shut off the kitchen light before making his way to the bedroom carefully.

The nightlight in the bathroom gave Nick enough light to show that Greg was indeed sleeping, faced towards the bathroom, away from Nick's side of the bed. Nick learned over and over that that meant Greg was pissed and that Nick really should find another place to sleep instead of staying with him.

In this case, however, he knew that leaving would only make things worse. Nick settled on the edge of the bed next to Greg and gently shook him awake. "Greg?" When he didn't receive an answer, he shook Greg again. "Greg, honey, it's me, wake up,"

"You said you'd be here," Greg mumbled, and Nick realized he wasn't pissed – he was disappointed. "You promised me you'd be home." His tone made Nick want to slink away and sit in a corner, have a time out like when he was little, until everything was magically better. If a time out could fix this, he'd definitely give it a shot.

"I know, I'm sorry." Nick sighed. He seemed to say those words so often lately. "Griss had another scene and there wasn't anyone else available." Seeing that the excuse wasn't making Greg feel better, Nick intertwined their fingers and squeezed Greg's hand. It didn't seem that Greg hated him as much as he thought when he squeezed back. At least he hadn't _completely_ screwed up.

Greg didn't say anything for a few moments, but Nick didn't get up, sensing that he wasn't finished. Moments passed and Greg still hadn't said anything, so Nick took the bait.

"I saw the kitchen."

"Figured you would." Greg still hadn't turned to look at him. "Didn't really have the energy to clean it all up, you know?" Nick made a mental note to never, _ever_ leave Greg hanging again. The tone of his voice was too much for him to handle and the guilt became heavier with every word his lover said.

"You didn't have to do all that."

"Wanted to." Greg shrugged, and the fact that Greg _wanted_ the evening and didn't feel compelled to doing it made Nick hurt even more. How could Greg put up with him and the things Nick did to him day in and day out?

The room still silent, Nick waited for Greg to keep going. "I had it planned for months. Even got the day off so I could really get everything together. It took so long; so many people helped me with it."

"And it went to waste."

Greg swallowed. "Yeah."

Nick closed his eyes and wished this was a dream. "I didn't forget. Five years is huge, I couldn't have forgotten if I tried."

"I didn't think you did." Greg swallowed again and gestured towards Nick's nightstand with a nod of his head. "It was all ready. Everything, _everything, _was perfect."

Focusing on his nightstand, Nick noticed a small black box sitting next to his alarm. "Greg," he whispered.

"Cliché speech and everything." Now Nick felt _really _horrible. Knowing that Greg had gone to the lengths he had, knowing his intentions, he realized just what he'd done by not calling.

"I'm a horrible boyfriend," he said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I should have called or something, but Griss hardly gave me room to breathe."

Greg shrugged again and turned over onto his stomach, slipping his hand from Nick's. "Yeah, well," he trailed off, snuggling into his pillow. "I just want to go to sleep and forget about it. I made a complete fool out of myself and I'd really appreciate it if we could never bring it up again."

"Greg, you didn't make a fool out of yourself. If anything, I made a fool out of myself. I should have been here, I could tell you wanted me here, I should have--," Nick let the sentence hang, getting up and walking to the closet to search for a surprise of his own. Moments later, he found it, blinking down at his hands before turning back to the bed and walking to his crestfallen lover.

"Hey, look at me." When Greg didn't respond, Nick kneeled and shook him. "Greg, come on, please?"

With a heavy sigh, Greg turned to face him. "Nick, please, I—," Seeing the box in Nick's hands silenced the blonde. "Nicky…" His voice wavered as he spoke.

"I know it's not what you had planned, but," Nick shifted to one knee and took a deep breath, "Will you marry me?"

Greg licked his lips and sat up, staring at Nick and the ring and knowing that his hands were starting to shake. "Are you proposing with my ring?" Nick smiled and nodded towards the small box still sitting in its place. Greg turned away and crawled across the bed, only to return with the other small box. "I'll marry you if you marry me."

Nick smiled. "I'll marry you."

"I'll marry you," Bombarded with an armload of Greg, the grin on Nick's face grew and he returned the embrace. "I'm sorry it wasn't perfect," Greg mumbled into his shoulder.

"It's perfect."

Nick knew that his proposal wouldn't get him off the hook for not calling, but he figured it was a step in the right direction.


End file.
